A study of barnacles attached to debris from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could help pinpoint where the ill-fated passenger jet crashed into the ocean 10 years ago.
The fate of flight MH370 became one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people aboard, including six Australians.
Debris confirmed or believed to be from the MH370 aircraft has washed up along the African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean, but the location of where the jet hit the water remains unknown.
Now marine experts from the University of South Florida believe barnacles attached to the debris may hold the answer.
The small crustaceans' shells hold information about the various water temperatures they've been exposed to during their lives, they said in a new study.
Researchers believe this data can help map the movement of the barnacles to where they first fastened onto the plane wreckage – and in turn, pinpoint where MH370 hit the sea.
How aviation's greatest mystery unfolded
The university's Gregory Herbert said he was inspired by the theory after seeing photos of the debris that washed ashore on Reunion Island off Africa.
He noticed part of the aircraft wing - the flaperon - was covered in the crustaceans.
"The debris was covered in barnacles, and as soon as I saw that, I immediately began sending emails to the search investigators because I knew the geochemistry of their shells could provide clues to the crash location," Herbert said.
Shelled sea creatures, including barnacles, grow their shells in layers similar to tree rings every day.
The chemicals in each layer highlight the surrounding water temperature when the barnacles were created.
French researchers were among the first to examine the barnacles on the debris.
They found the barnacles may be old enough to have formed shortly after the crash.
The study was published in the journal AGU Advances.
An official search by Malaysia, Australia and China for MH370 was suspended in 2016 and the countries agreed that an official search would only resume if there was credible evidence that identified a location.
A US technology firm called Ocean Infinity also conducted a search that ended in May 2018 without any answers on where the plane is.